Gun Control: See How Chicago’s Current Homicide Rate Compares With 1 Year Ago…It Might Shock You

Chicago’s current homicide rate is quite different compared with where it was this time last year. In fact, there are just over twice as many homicides in the Windy City now, compared with one year ago. Chicago’s high homicide rate – coupled with its having some of the strictest gun control laws in the county – are reasons that the city is often cited by gun control opponents as the prime example of where gun control leads.

Chicago’s high homicide rate is due in part to its prevalence of rival gangs, particularly in the South Side of Chicago, as well as neighborhoods such as Englewood – which is right next to the South Side – and Austin on the West Side.

Four homicides over the weekend and two more Monday morning pushed Chicago’s homicide count so far this year to double the same period last year.

The city has recorded at least 95 homicides since the first of the year, compared to 47 last year, according to data kept by the Tribune. The city has also more than doubled the amount of people shot – about 420 this year compared to 193 last year.

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On Saturday afternoon, 18-year-old Brian Johnson was shot in the head near the intersection of Prairie Avenue and 56th Street, officials said. He was taken to Stroger Hospital and pronounced dead.

Around 8 a.m. Monday, a cabbie was found shot to death in his taxi parked near a library in the 4400 block of North Leavitt Street, police said. Hours later, a 28-year-old man was shot in the 6400 block of South Eggleston Avenue, said Officer Ana Pacheco, a Chicago police spokeswoman.

In addition to those homicides, the Tribune reported that there were a total of 32 people shot in Chicago over the weekend alone, including a three-year-old boy in Englewood, who police say was shot by a stray bullet during a gang fight. The Tribune concluded:

The weekend’s first gunshot homicide was at 11:30 p.m. Friday, when 20-year-old Terrell Sykes was shot multiple times in the abdomen while standing out on the Gresham block where he lived.

Gun control proponents believe that the solution to the city’s high homicide rate is – believe it or not – more state and national gun control laws. Read what Chicago Police Department spokesman Anthony Guglielmi had to say:

“Every year Chicago Police recover more illegal guns than officers in any other city, and as more and more illegal guns continue to find their way into our neighborhoods, it is clear we need stronger state and federal gun laws.”

What’s abundantly clear is that criminals will not obey laws. As much as that is stating the obvious, it doesn’t seem to be something that is understood by many politicians. Those who favor strict gun control see the cause of Chicago’s high homicide rate as “lax gun laws” in neighboring states such as Indiana.

Instead of responding to the high homicide rate by trying to create a gun vacuum, political leaders should embrace the reality of the need for self-defense weapons in the hands of residents.